Grain-conditioning machine



Feb. 11, 1930.

HALL ET AL.

( RAIN CONDITIONING MACHINE Filed 001:. 15, 1928 2 Sheets-Shee'z 1 Feb. 11, 1 3 J. A. HALL ET AL I GRAIN CONDITIONING MACHINE Filed Oct. 15, 1928 2 Shegts-Sheet 2 urv 70?;

Fig.3

Fig.4

Fig.2 I

Patented Feb. 11, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ENGL AND

GRAIn-oonnnuonrns Mhcnmn Application filed October 15,1928, Serial No.

This invention relates to grain Conditioning machines of the type in which the grain as it descends thetower or casing of the machine intermingles with air which is caused to flow across the tower by means of invertedducts or troughs arranged in rows or tiers s'o that air entering the duct-sin one tier must pass into the streamof descending grain'and intermingle therewith be fore it can dfiowout by wayofthe ducts in another tier.

With suchlmachines, it found in practire that under certain conditionsthere is a tendency for material carried by the air leaving the grain to deposit in the exhaust ducts in the towerflor casing and also in the exhaust trunks and conduits outside such toweror casing, and .such deposits restrict the passageways for the withdrawal of air and may rapidly block some or all of the same entirely. a i a a v 1 ,he object of our present invention is to provideinasiinple and-effective manner for the prevention of the accumulation of deposited material in theexhaust ducts andtrunks or conduits of grain conditioning machine and it comprises essentially the in troduction into the exhaust ductsin the grain tower or casing and also, if necessary, into the exhaust trunks ,or condults leading from said ducts, of hotair which has notpassed through the grain, whereby we prevent the depositiono'f molsture 1n sa1d ducts and conthereon.

duits due tocondensationot the vapours car-,

ried by the air trom ithe grainand the consequent accumulation of light material which adheres to the wetted surfaces and builds up Our inventionlfurther comprises the bypassing of a portion of. the hot air passing intothe air inlet ductsof-the grain tower or casing, directly into the exhaust conduits on the outside of such casing.

Our invention further comprises the provision of ablank section through which no air is circulated between the upper portion of the tower or casing through which hot air is circulated and the lower portion of such tower or casing through which relatively cold air is circulated, said blank section preventing the passage of cold air into the exhaustion and closed at the top.

312,724, andin Great Britain 26, 1928 ducts of the upper portion of the tower or casing and so obviating the cooling of the air in such ducts and the deposition of moisture therein.

Referring to the accompanying explanatory drawings Figure 1 is a diagrammaticview of a grain conditioning machine constructed in accordance with this inventionQ Figure 2 is a sectional front elevation, Fig ure 3 a side elevation looking from left to right of Figure 2 but with a part oi the exhaust trunk or conduit broken away for the sake ofclearness, and Figure l a sectional planview on the line AB of Figure 3, showing diagrammatically thexdetails of the machine illustrated in Figure 1.

The same reference letters in the different views indicate the same parts.

The machine comprises a tower "or casing 01 into the top of whichgrainis fed at b and from the bottom of which the grain is withdrawnat c. [There are theusual control fittings(not shown) atb and c.

Across the tower or casing a extend anumber of rows of inverted troughs or ducts (he i and f, g. Such ducts are open'atthe bottom There is a space between the superposed rows of ducts and also a spacebetween the several ducts in each row. The ducts in one row are not in line with the ducts in'the rows above and beneath so that the grain in descending thet'ower has its path diverted and the stream broken up to ensure an efficient action of the air currents on the grain. v

At one side of the tower or casing a is a hot airinlet conduit in and at the opposite side anairexhaustionconduiti which leads by way of a pipe j to a fan m an'danair heatern. and so back to the hot air inlet conduit 72,.

The latter is in free communicationwith the :ducts e in alternate rows of "ducts acrossthe toweror casing and the exhaustconduit'z' is in freecommunic'ationwiththe ducts cl which alternate with e. If desired, a portion of the air from the conduit imay be bypassed into the exhaust conduit 0 byway of the passage j? controlled by a suitablevalve.

Atthe lower part of'the tower creasing are the rows of ducts f, g, the alternate rows f communicating freely with the exhaust conduit 0 which leads to the fan p and dust separator q and so to the atmosphere, whilst the alternate rows 9 are open at one end to the atmosphere so that cool air from the atmosphere'is drawn through the grain before it is discharged from the tower.

It will be understood that the hot air entering by the conduit it passes into the ducts 6, out through the open lower ends of same, and through the descending grain to the ducts d, which it enters at their open lower ends and so passes to the exhaust conduit 2' to be reheated in :n and returned to the ducts h.

In accordance with our present invention, we provide each air outlet or exhaust duct d with one or more small apertures r at the end opposite to that at which the air exhaustion conduit 2' is situated and cause hot air to pass through said apertures direct from the hot air supply conduit h. The admission of such hot air directly to the exhaust ducts d within the tower or casing a maintains a sufficiently high temperature in such ducts to prevent condensation of moisture therein which would by wetting the surface facilitate the deposit and accumulation of light or fine material withdrawn from the grain by the air.

Further, the air jets issuing from the apertures 1' into the ducts 11 act as boosters to speed up the delivery of any solid material from the ducts d into the exhaust conduit 2'.

In addition to the admission of hot air directly to the exhaust duct (1 within the grain tower or casing a, we ma pass hot air from the hot air inlet conduit to the exhaust air conduit 1' by a by-pass connection 8 having a valve 22 therein, in order to prevent condensation in the external pipe system leading from the ducts d throu h conduit 2', and fan m to the heater n. A blank section In which has no air connections is disposed between the upper portion of the tower or casing to which hot air is supplied and the lower portion to which cold air is su plied, for the purpose of preventing the ex iaustion means for the hot air drawing cold air from the lower portion of the tower, which would cause a deposition of moisture in the exhaustion conduits and ducts.

What we claim is t 1. A grain conditioning mach ne comprisi a tower or casing with an air inlet conduit extending down one side thereof and communicating freely with alternate rows of ducts oplen at their lower ends which extend across t e grain tower or casing an air exhaust conduit extending down the opposite side of the'tower or casing and communicating freely with the other alternate rows of ducts which extend across the tower or casing, the exhaust conduit and the'inlet conduit being in communication outside the tower or casing by means of a fan and heater, and

means establishing a restricted communication between the air inlet conduit and the alternate rows of exhaust ducts within the tower or casing, and a valve controlled communication on the outside of the tower or casing between the air inlet conduit and the exhaust conduit.

2. A grain conditioning machine comprising a tower or casing with an air inlet conduit communicating freely with alternate rows of ducts open at their lower ends which extend across the grain tower or casing, an air exhaust conduit communicating freely with the other alternate rows of ducts which extend across the tower or casing, and means establishing a restricted communication between the air inlet conduit and the alternate rows of exhaust ducts within the tower or casing.

3. A grain conditioning machine comprising a tower or casing with an air inlet communicating freely with alternate rows of ducts open at their lower ends which extend across the grain tower or casing, an air exhaust conduit communicating freely with the other alternate rows of ducts which extend across the tower or casing, means establishing a restricted communication between the air inlet conduit and the alternate rows of exhaust ducts within the tower or casing, and

means establishing direct communication between the air inlet conduit and the air exhaust conduit.

4. A grain conditioning machine comprising a tower or casing, a plurality of rows of ducts open at their lower ends which extend across the upper part of said tower or casing, hot air inlet and exhaust conduits, alternate rows of such ducts communicating with said inlet and with said exhaust conduits, means establishing a restricted communication between the inlet conduit and the alternate rows of ducts which communicate with the exhaust conduit, and further rows of ducts open at their lower ends extending across the lower part of said tower or casing, but with a space above them with no ducts therein below the aforesaid inlet and exhaust ducts, the lower rows of ducts communicating alternately with the atmosphere and with exhaustion means.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification.

JAMES ALFRED HALL. WALTER FRANK CROSS GEORGE. 

